10 Greatest Things About ECW’s Final Year

Despite being the hottest star in the history of the company, ECW unfortunately closed its doors before Rob Van Dam was able to become the ECW World Champion. Of course, the Whole F'n Show would eventually with that prize once the the promotion was relaunched by WWE, but one of the great what ifs about Paul Heyman's ECW is how the company would have fared with RVD as its true centre-piece.

Having defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to become ECW TV Champion in April 1998, Van Dam famously embarked on a legendary 700-day reign where he defended that title on a whopping 121 occasions. In fact, that reign only came to an end after RVD broke his ankle in a match against Rhino in January 2000.

When the Battle Creek native returned to ECW screens three months later, the fans treated Van Dam like a god. And for his part, Mr. PPV delivered some typically explosive performances which only further increased his reputation as one of the most innovative, entertaining wrestlers on the planet.

As part of this return, RVD debuted the jaw-dropping Van Terminator, briefly rekindled his always stunning war with Jerry Lynn, had a fun rivalry with Scotty Anton, developed a partnership with Kid Kash, and then had his sights on taking the ECW TV Championship back from the clutches of Rhino.

Sadly, pay disputes with Paul Heyman caused RVD to miss the last two months of 2000, though he did return to again battle Lynn at the promotion's final ever PPV, Guilty as Charged in January 2001. Still, the hype around Rob Van Dam throughout ECW's final year was massive - and the future WWE Hall of Famer had never felt hotter (at that point) than when he returned from his broken ankle.